The Attributes of God.
Part Two.
Bible
Reading: Genesis 1:1.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.”
Faithfulness: Everything that God has
promised will come to pass. His faithfulness guarantees this fact. He does not
lie. What He has said in the Bible about Himself is true. Jesus even said that
He is the Truth. This is extremely important for the followers of Jesus because
it is on His faithfulness that our hope of eternal life rests. He will honour
His promise that our sins will be forgiven and that we will live forever with Him.
Mercy: “Mercy is the attribute of
God which disposes Him to be actively compassionate.” Since God’s justice is
satisfied in Jesus, He is free to show mercy to all those who have chosen to
follow Him. It will never end since it is a part of God’s nature.
Mercy is the way He desires to
relate to mankind, and He does so unless the person chooses to despise or
ignore God at which time His justice becomes the prominent attribute.
Goodness: “The goodness of God is
that which disposes Him to be kind, pleasant, compassionate, and full of good
will toward men.” This attribute of God is why He bestows all the blessing He
does on His followers. God’s actions define what goodness is, and we can easily
see it in the way Jesus related to the people around Him.
Gracious: God enjoys giving great
gifts to those who love Him, even when they do not deserve it. Grace is the way
we describe that feeling.
Jesus
Christ is the channel through which His grace moves. The Bible says, “The law was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Justice: The Bible says that God is
just, but it is His character that defines what being just really is. He does
not conform to some outside criteria. Being just brings moral equity to
everyone. When there are evil acts, justice demands there be a penalty. Since
God is perfect and has never done evil, no penalty would ever be necessary;
however, because of His love, God paid the penalty for our evil deeds by going
to the cross Himself. His justice needed to be satisfied, but He took care of
it for all who will believe in Jesus.
Wisdom: “Wisdom is the ability to
devise perfect ends and to achieve these ends by the most perfect means.” In
other words, God makes no mistakes. He is the Father who truly knows best, as
Paul explains in Romans 11:33 “Oh, how great are God’s riches
and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His
decisions and His ways!”
Eternal: In some ways, this fact
about God is like His self-existence. God always has been and will forever be
because God dwells in eternity. Time is His creation. It is why God can see the
end from the beginning, and why He is never surprised by anything. If He were
not eternal, God’s promise of eternal life for those who follow Jesus would
have little value.
1. God is Omnipotent, Almighty,
Unstoppable, Supreme, He is All Powerful.
“The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word, and all the stars were born” Psalm 33:6.
a. Can you fathom
the mysteries of God?
b. Can you probe the
limits of the Almighty?
c. They are higher
than the heavens above, what can you do?
d. They are deeper
than the depths below, what can you know?
e. Their measure is
longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
Writes
Job.
Omnipotent means
to have unlimited power (omni = all; potent = powerful). God is able and
powerful to do anything He wills without any effort on His part. Ron Moore says: “God’s attribute of
omnipotence means that God is able to do all that He desires to do. When He
plans something, it will come to be. If He purposes something, it will happen.
Nothing can prevent His plan.”
God’s decisions
are always in line with His character, and He has all the power to do whatever
He decides to do. Scripture is clear
that God is strong and mighty, and nothing is too hard for Him to
accomplish:
Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I
will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Jeremiah 32:17 “O Sovereign Lord! You
made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too
hard for you!
Luke 1:37 “For the word of God will never fail.”
Often God is
called “Almighty,” describing Him as the One who possesses all power and
authority, (2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 1:8). In fact, Paul
says that God is “able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” Ephesians 3:20.”
John
MacArthur says: “Although such power might seem frightful, remember that God is
good. He can do anything according to His infinite ability but will do only
those things that are consistent with Himself. That is why He cannot lie,
tolerate sin, or save unrepentant sinners.”
2. God is Omniscient, all-seeing, wise,
He is All-Knowing.
“Remember
the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am
God, and there is none like me.
I
make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to
come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” Isaiah 46:9-10.
God is
omniscient, which means He knows everything. He can be everywhere, at the same
time. And He never sleeps or slumbers, He is aware every moment of every day,
exactly what we are up against.
He knows our way
and is with us always. There is no place on this earth we can go that He does
not see and know of.
Tozer says:
“God perfectly knows Himself and, being the source and author of all things, it
follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and
with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge
concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the
universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet
unborn.”
Because God is
all-knowing, we can trust that He knows everything we are going through today
and everything we will go through tomorrow. When we think on this truth,
especially considering His other attributes of goodness and love, it makes it
easier to trust Him with all we have going on in our lives.
End of part two,
part three will follow.
